One of the most important TV antiheroes of all time, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) was a flawed family man, who attempted to balance his familial duties with managing his mob activities.
HBOBacked by a licensing deal with HBO, local broadcaster Bell Media has unveiled its upcoming Canadian video streaming portal to compete against Netflix Canada and local rival Shomi.
Code named Project Latte, the SVOD will feature 10,000 hours of programming, with around 10 percent coming from a back-catalog deal with HBO. That gives the Canadian streamer marquee shows like The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Six Feet Under.
Bell Media’s deal with HBO, similar to the multi-year deal the U.S. channel did with Amazon Prime, also includes scripted series like Curb Your Enthusiasm and Big Love, on top of HBO movies, documentaries and stand-up and music specials.
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Canadian rivals Rogers Media and Shaw Media recently unveiled Shomi, a domestic SVOD service to launch in November with its own super content deals with major Hollywood studios like Warner Bros., Starz Digital Media and 20th Century Fox.
Bell Media is betting it can beat all-comers in the Canadian over-the-top space by marketing Project Latte to all Canadians. Shomi will be available initially only to Rogers and Shaw cable and Internet subscribers.
Project Latte will also be exclusively TV, including programming from its pay TV network The Movie Network.
There’s no word on pricing for the SVOD, which will be delivered via TV set-top box, apps, online and other digital platforms.
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